Amphibious vehicle

ABSTRACT

A surface vehicle for traveling on land or water with high-speed capability on both land and water. The vehicle has two cylindrical buoyant barrels mounted at either end of substantial buoyancy billets. The motion of the barrels is about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of motion of the vehicle. Both front and rear barrels have paddles on their surface. The paddles on the rear motor-driven barrel provide propulsion in the water and the paddles on the front barrel encourage it to roll on the water at high speeds. The barrels have raised rims for travel on land so that the paddles are not damaged. The front barrel has the further capability of turning about an axis perpendicular to its direction of rotation to provide steering in water and land. The fixed rims on both front and rear barrels are capable of differential motion relative to each other to facilitate turning on hard surfaces. The buoyancy billets between the barrels are arranged to control the depth of immersion of the barrels and consequently to insure efficient thrust from the paddles and to assist in carrying larger water-borne loads which if dependent solely on the buoyant barrels would cause the barrels to be immersed so deeply in the water as to render propulsive thrust from the paddles of the rear barrel very low because of dissipation of energy in vertical components of the paddle motion in the water.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Viljo KaleviKarvonen Lynn, Mass. (14 Falmouth Ave. Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) [21] AppLNo. 784,546 [22] Filed Dec. 16,1968 [45] Patented Apr. 13,1971

[54] AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLE 3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 115/1 [51] lnt.Cl 863i 3/00 [50] FieldofSearch l15/l9,1, 2;280/l24.3

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,540,279 2/1951 Mosier 280/124X 3,091,209 5/1963 Leiberman 115/2 3,173,396 3/1965 Bradov 115/1 3,381,650 5/1968 Itohetal 115/19 FORElGN PATENTS 516,326 12/1920 France 115/19 Primary Examiner-Andrew H. Farrell ABSTRACT: A surface vehicle for traveling on land or water with high-speed capability on both land and water. The vehicle has two cylindrical buoyant barrels mounted at either end of substantial buoyancy billets The motion of the barrels is about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of motion of the vehicle. Both front and rear barrels have paddles on their surface. The paddles on the rear motor-driven barrel provide propulsion in the water and the paddles on the front barrel encourage it to roll on the water at high speeds. The barrels have raised rims for travel on land so that the paddles are not damaged. The front barrel has the further capability of turning about an axis perpendicular to its direction of rotation to provide steering in water and land. The fixed rims on both front and rear barrels are capable of differential motion relative to each other to facilitate turning on hard surfaces. The buoyancy billets between the barrels are arranged to control the depth of immersion of the barrels and consequently to insure efficient thrust from the paddles and to assist in carrying larger water-home loads which if dependent solely on the buoyant barrels would cause the barrels to be immersed so deeply in the water as to render propulsive thrust from the paddles of the rear barrel very low because of dissipation of energy in vertical components of the paddle motion in the water.

Patented April 13, 1971 3,575,126

3 Sheets-Sheet lv FIG. 3

Patented April 13, 1971 I 3,575,126

I5 Stung-Sheet 2 Patented April 13, 1971 3 Sheets-Sheet 25 FIG. q

This invention relates to amphibious vehicles for traveling on land and on or in water.

According to the invention there is provided a motorized vehicle using two buoyant barrels and a buoyant body that rolls on land using the barrels as a means of motion, travels in water at slow speeds (less than 25 mph.) using the buoyant body for flotation and the buoyant barrels for flotation and propulsion, and rolls on water at high speeds (greater than 25 mph.) on the two barrels. The rear barrel of the vehicle is chain driven by a motor and propels the vehicle on smooth hard land and ice by means of a fixed tread on the rim of the barrel. The tread at the other end of the barrel slides in its rim allowing a differential effect as the vehicle goes around corners. In sand, mud or snow, propulsion is achieved by a number IO to 16) of long thin paddles attached to the surface of the barrel between the two treads. In water, at slow speeds, flotation is accomplished by the buoyancy of the barrels and the main body and propulsion is accomplished by means of the long thin paddles on the rear barrel. At high speeds, the vehicle rolls on top of the water by means of the two barrels. The front barrel rotates on a vertical axis allowing the vehicle to be steered on land and on or in water.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a side elevation of the amphibious vehicle for traveling on land and on or in water.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the vehicle shown in FIG. I.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the vehicle shown in FIG. I.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of the buoyant barrel.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a segment of the rim of the barrel shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an oblique view of the chassis of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the construction of the front torsion bar suspension of the chassis shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the middle of the front torsion bar suspension shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 10 of the drawings, there is shown an amphibious vehicle for traveling on land and in or on water. The vehicle consists essentially of two aluminum covered styrofoam filled barrels, with bicycle wheels at either end, mounted on an aluminum chassis which incorporates two styrofoam billets for additional flotation and stability. The front barrel 1 is free to turn about a vertical axis and is connected to the vehicle by a torsion bar suspension system 2 that will be discussed later in FIG. 9. The front barrel is controlled by a steering handle 3 that runs up to the drivers seat 4. One side of the rear barrel 6, whose construction is essentially the same as the front barrel, except there are more thin paddles mounted on the surface of the aluminum for propulsion, has a sprocket 7 to which the chain drive 9 from the motor 5 and transmission 10 are connected. The sprocket is rigidly mounted to the bicycle wheel hub so that the wheel may be driven either forward or backward. On the bottom of the vehicle are two styrofoam billets 11 covered with a sheet of aluminum 8 on the bottom to protect them from ice and rough terrain and to allow a smoother planing surface when the vehicle makes a transition from in-water to on-water operation.

The remainder of the body 12 is made of structural aluminum covered with sheet aluminum. The body is not watertight because all flotation is due to the styrofoam and the floor 13 of the vehicle is always several inches above water level. Because no watertight construction is used, there is no opportunity for leaks to develop in this type of vehicle. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show thbd'iiStiUciiori of the buoyant barrels in detail. The barrel consists of a styrofoam core 18 covered with a sheet of aluminum 19 for protection and has two conventional bicycle wheels consisting of rim l5, spokes 17 and hub 16 at either end. Attached to the surface of the aluminum 19 are long thin paddles 20 made out of l-inch aluminum angle. As well as providing a paddle surface, the aluminum angle holds the barrel together by being attached to the rim 15 by a bolt 42. On the inside of the rim 15, and extending around its inside surface, is a thin strip of aluminum 22. This strip of aluminum provides a smooth sliding surface for a half-inch-thick solid vinyl tread 14. Between the vinyl tread 14 and the aluminum strip 22 is a thin layer of grease 21 to allow the tread to slide better. This sliding tread is used on both sides of the front barrel 1 so that it can be easily turned about a vertical axis when the vehicle is stationary or moving. Only one side of the rear barrel 6 has a sliding tread, since the other side is required for traction on hard surfaces.

FIG. 8 is an oblique view of the chassis of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1. The chassis consists of two aluminum channels 23 running along the length of the vehicle, three aluminum channels 24 running across the vehicle and a torsion bar suspension system. Bolted to the longitudinal channels 23 are two steel leaf springs 27 on which are two steel brackets 33 which are used to mount the rear barrel. The bottom of the chassis consists of two styrofoam billets 11 covered with a sheet of aluminum 8 on the bottom.

The front torsion bar system is attached to the main chassis by two channels arranged in a wedge shape 25. The front torsion bar system consists of a torsion bar 26, welded to a vertical steel shaft 30 that is mounted to the wedge channels 25 by two flange bearings 31. The union of the vertical steel shaft 30 and the torsion bar 26 is reinforced by a steel plate 27. Welded to each end of the torsion bar 26 are two steel brackets 28, onto which two aluminum channels 29 are bolted. The front barrel 1 is mounted between these two aluminum channels 29. Vertical loads on the front torsion bar suspension are absorbed by the aluminum channel 35 that contains the torsion bar 26 and reinforcing plate 27. The torsion bar 26 absorbs the torsional load from the aluminum channel 29 supporting the front barrel 1. To prevent the torsion bar 26 from sliding inside the main aluminum channel 35, two U-bolts 32 are used at either end. The result is a strong, simple and light torsional suspension system in which the torsional and vertical loads are split up amongst two separate structural members, 35 and 26.

I claim:

1. In a surface vehicle for traveling on solid land, water, or on surfaces having the properties of both land and water, a vehicle with two paddle-surfaced buoyant barrels at either end of substantial buoyancy billets, with the lower edge of the buoyant barrels being below the bottom of the buoyancy billets to provide clearance on a hard surface, such that thrust is provided by a motorized rear barrel, additional buoyancy and barrel immersion depth, to insure the efficiency of the pad dles, is controlled by the buoyancy billets attached to the bottom of the vehicle and the front barrel is surfaced with paddles to enable it to roll better on the surface of the water, with the front barrel arranged so that it turns about a vertical axis enabling the machine to be steered on land with raised rims on both front and rear barrels so that the paddles are not damaged when traveling on a hard surface and the rims of the barrels move differentially relative to each other to facilitate turning on a hard surface.

2. In an amphibious vehicle as described in claim 1, to provide alight, highly torque-resistant aluminum chassis, with all members being either bolted or welded together, consisting of two channels running parallel to the length of the vehicle which are braced by several channels at right angles to them and two channels at 45 relative to them with the channels at 45 terminating together at the front center of the vehicle to which the torsion bar suspension system is attached.

3. In an amphibious vehicle as described in claim 1, to provide buoyant paddle-covered barrels with rims raised beyond the outer diameter of the tips of the paddles with the rims having the capability to rotate differentially relative to each other by the movement of sliding treads in the rims or by the motion of an entire rim, which is free to rotate about the axle of the barrel relative to the rim at the opposite end of the barrel. 

1. In a surface vehicle for traveling on solid land, water, or on surfaces having the properties of both land and water, a vehicle with two paddle-surfaced buoyant barrels at either end of substantial buoyancy billets, with the lower edge of the buoyant barrels being below the bottom of the buoyancy billets to provide clearance on a hard surface, such that thrust is provided by a motorized rear barrel, additional buoyancy and barrel immersion depth, to insure the efficiency of the paddles, is controlled by the buoyancy billets attached to the bottom of the vehicle and the front barrel is surfaced with paddles to enable it to roll better on the surface of the water, with the front barrel arranged so that it turns about a vertical axis enabling the machine to be steered on land with raised rims on both front and rear barrels so that the paddles are not damaged when traveling on a hard surface and the rims of the barrels move differentially relative to each other to facilitate turning on a hard surface.
 2. In an amphibious vehicle as described in claim 1, to provide a light, highly torque-resistant aluminum chassis, with all members being either bolted or welded together, consisting of two channels running parallel to the length of the vehicle which are braced by several channels at right angles to them and two channels at 45* relative to them with the channels at 45* terminating together at the front center of the vehicle to which the torsion bar suspension system is attached.
 3. In an amphibious vehicle as described in claim 1, to provide buoyant paddle-covered barrels with rims raised beyond the outer diameter of the tips of the paddles with the rims having the capability to rotate differentially relative to each other by the movement of sliding treads in the rims or by the motion of an entire rim, which is free to rotate about the axle of the barrel relative to the rim at the opposite end of the barrel. 